This week I observed Dr. Pothier's period five juniors and her period six sophomores/juniors (honors course). During period five (first period of the day) students are talking during morning anouncements which Dr. Pothier immediately says will not do. The class has not met since I have observed last due to state testing so they are still working on significant figures and scientific notation. Dr. Pothier passes back quizes and explains that she did not count the grade because of how poorly the majority of the class did. She explains that they have a test coming up and that this will be the last class that time will be spent going over the material. She asks them to "repair" their quizzes to see where they made mistakes. A few students do not appear to be on task one in particular catches my eye. He is sitting at his desk doing nothing after being told that he must make corrections to his quiz. After the majority of the students begin to work he is still sitting doing nothing. Dr. Pothier asks him why he is not working to which he responds he is too tired to do anything. She says that if he is able to come to school he should be able to come to work and asks him again to begin the assignment. He still sits there for a moment and then begins to show some signs of life. I notice that as students start finishing there assignment they start talking about anything but Chemistry. As Dr. Pothier walks around the room to assist students, the conversations increase with each completed assignment. One student that I noticed as reserved and not really on task last time continues the same trend today. Dr. Pothier explained to me last time that she may need to speak with the psycologist to determine if their are underlying reasons for his lack of dilligence. Dr. Pothier passes out homework for the weekend and explains that if students are done with their assignment they may start the homework. After all students are done "repairing" their quizzes, the remainder of the period is spent going over the quiz problems. Students are being asked questions by Dr. Pothier and the majority of them appear to be engaged out of fear that they will be called on to answer a question. In closing Dr. Pothier says "Please be worried, the test is comming and I'm pretty sure that you guys aren't giving me 20 minutes a day".
Period 6 (honors class) is a completely different story. Students are engaged in their work literally the moment they enter the room. Instead of talking about the latest gossip or sporting event they are all comparing the graphs that they have been working on. When it comes time for Dr. Pothier to begin class they are quiet and attentive. Today they are continuing a lab involving the construction of a callibration line on a graph. The line consists of the percentage of sugar in solutions compared to their densities. The object of the lab is to compare comercial brands of drinks commonly found in the cafeteria to the callibration line that they create. This is done by massing sucrose solutions (differnce percentages) and determining their volume by using burrets. I am able to go around the room and ask them what they are doing and they are not only able to tell me in detail what they have been doing they are able to tell me why. A group of two students appears to be passively observing another group and not contributing much. Dr. Pothier explains that they must produce their own data and results. All of the students are very polite and stay on task for the majority of the class which includes cleaning up at the end of the lab.
Reflections:
I noticed that there were very distinct differences in how the students responded to instruction between the two classes. Period five requires much more structure than does period six. The topic of conversation is noticably different. Period five you hear random chatter after assignments are comming to completion; peroid six you hardly see this at all and if they are conversing it is typically about the assignment or another form of Chemistry. Period five students often act as if they do not want to be there and can be uncooprative, whereas period six requires very little dicipline to keep them rolling. Dr. Pothier explained to me that each class that I come in contact with will require different approaches and strategies. I can see why after observing both classes back to back, it was honestly like day and night. I noticed in period five that the farther away Dr. Pothier is from a group of students the more likely it is that they will start talking (not about Chemistry), in period six you do not see this. It is usually handled by Dr. Pothier telling the students that they should not be talking they should be completing their assignment. This is delt with very professionally and authority is applied only when absolutely needed. She explains that if you push too hard, nobody is going to listen to you. I agree with this concept, but I also think that this demonstrates a fine like between challeging the students and keeping a positive relationship with them.
Class Topic: Significant Figures/Scientific Notation
Grade: Eleventh
Observed by: Matthew Hooper
Observations:
This week I observed Dr. Pothier's period five juniors and her period six sophomores/juniors (honors course). During period five (first period of the day) students are talking during morning anouncements which Dr. Pothier immediately says will not do. The class has not met since I have observed last due to state testing so they are still working on significant figures and scientific notation. Dr. Pothier passes back quizes and explains that she did not count the grade because of how poorly the majority of the class did. She explains that they have a test coming up and that this will be the last class that time will be spent going over the material. She asks them to "repair" their quizzes to see where they made mistakes. A few students do not appear to be on task one in particular catches my eye. He is sitting at his desk doing nothing after being told that he must make corrections to his quiz. After the majority of the students begin to work he is still sitting doing nothing. Dr. Pothier asks him why he is not working to which he responds he is too tired to do anything. She says that if he is able to come to school he should be able to come to work and asks him again to begin the assignment. He still sits there for a moment and then begins to show some signs of life. I notice that as students start finishing there assignment they start talking about anything but Chemistry. As Dr. Pothier walks around the room to assist students, the conversations increase with each completed assignment. One student that I noticed as reserved and not really on task last time continues the same trend today. Dr. Pothier explained to me last time that she may need to speak with the psycologist to determine if their are underlying reasons for his lack of dilligence. Dr. Pothier passes out homework for the weekend and explains that if students are done with their assignment they may start the homework. After all students are done "repairing" their quizzes, the remainder of the period is spent going over the quiz problems. Students are being asked questions by Dr. Pothier and the majority of them appear to be engaged out of fear that they will be called on to answer a question. In closing Dr. Pothier says "Please be worried, the test is comming and I'm pretty sure that you guys aren't giving me 20 minutes a day".Period 6 (honors class) is a completely different story. Students are engaged in their work literally the moment they enter the room. Instead of talking about the latest gossip or sporting event they are all comparing the graphs that they have been working on. When it comes time for Dr. Pothier to begin class they are quiet and attentive. Today they are continuing a lab involving the construction of a callibration line on a graph. The line consists of the percentage of sugar in solutions compared to their densities. The object of the lab is to compare comercial brands of drinks commonly found in the cafeteria to the callibration line that they create. This is done by massing sucrose solutions (differnce percentages) and determining their volume by using burrets. I am able to go around the room and ask them what they are doing and they are not only able to tell me in detail what they have been doing they are able to tell me why. A group of two students appears to be passively observing another group and not contributing much. Dr. Pothier explains that they must produce their own data and results. All of the students are very polite and stay on task for the majority of the class which includes cleaning up at the end of the lab.
Reflections:
I noticed that there were very distinct differences in how the students responded to instruction between the two classes. Period five requires much more structure than does period six. The topic of conversation is noticably different. Period five you hear random chatter after assignments are comming to completion; peroid six you hardly see this at all and if they are conversing it is typically about the assignment or another form of Chemistry. Period five students often act as if they do not want to be there and can be uncooprative, whereas period six requires very little dicipline to keep them rolling. Dr. Pothier explained to me that each class that I come in contact with will require different approaches and strategies. I can see why after observing both classes back to back, it was honestly like day and night. I noticed in period five that the farther away Dr. Pothier is from a group of students the more likely it is that they will start talking (not about Chemistry), in period six you do not see this. It is usually handled by Dr. Pothier telling the students that they should not be talking they should be completing their assignment. This is delt with very professionally and authority is applied only when absolutely needed. She explains that if you push too hard, nobody is going to listen to you. I agree with this concept, but I also think that this demonstrates a fine like between challeging the students and keeping a positive relationship with them.Class Topic: Significant Figures/Scientific Notation
Grade: Eleventh
Observed by: Matthew Hooper